


Borrowed Time

by Piz



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-12
Updated: 2015-04-13
Packaged: 2018-03-22 11:07:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3726454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Piz/pseuds/Piz





	1. Chapter 1

I am living on borrowed time.

That is what I was told, anyways. They never told me whose time I'm borrowing, how much I have, or when it has to be returned. Not that they are to be trusted, them being dream people and all. My mother told me not to care about dreams. I'm trying not to but keep having the same dream. It could be called a nightmare since having it leaves me feeling ghastly when I wake up. Like just now.

 

I doubt I can sleep any more, despite feeling all groggy and tired. Sil greets me the moment my eyes open, gently headbutting me as he notices I'm awake. The Ninetales licks my cheek once and receives a pat on the head before yawning, jumping off the bed and stretching. He nearly bumps into my rucksack, still only partially unpacked and leaning to the wall, on his way out. With him gone, I begin to wonder where my phone has gone. It's not next to my pillow like usually, so I reach out and feel around the computer table I sometimes leave it on. There, found it. 10:38, no new messages. Blah. It's time to get up.

 

It's Saturday. I got back home from a year in Hoenn just two days earlier, and spent yesterday drinking tea with various relatives. My mother insisted on that despite my protest about being jet lagged and tired. Now I'm even more so, but there'll be some time to relax today. It is, at least, pleasantly quiet while I put my clothes on, and completely silent when I stop to listen for clues of Sil for a moment before exiting my room. Silence is highly suspicious if you happen to own a Ninetales like mine. Sil's a master at getting to places he isn't supposed to be in, like onto a bookshelf or stuck in a ventilation shaft, so I rush through the doorway into the hallway to look for him. Is he in the kitchen, the poké/guest bedroom, or in the living room? I really hope he hasn't got to the back yard.

 

To my partial surprise, he's lying in the corner of the living room, between the sofa and the wall with the back door, intensely chewing on the new toy I got him. Something like the Hoenn badge case or an electric cable would have been more like him, but it seems like he's fallen in love with whatever ultrasonic squeaks the toy makes. That's a relief. I sit on the sofa and reach out to ruffle the tuft on Sil's head to assure him that he isn't doing anything bad. He stops for a moment to look at me and lick the back of my hand, which causes a warm feeling inside me. His invitation to play is tempting, but unfortunately unacceptable since I haven't had my morning coffee yet. It's something that needs immediate correcting, so I head to the kitchen for some breakfast, leaving Sil with his new toy.

 

Raz, my first pokémon, comes back from his morning rituals in the backyard while I'm drinking my coffee. Peeking to the kitchen, the Sceptile confirms that I'm awake and sitting at the table in the middle of the room. I always make sure to be easy for him to find. Once, while he was still a Grovyle, I forgot to mention that I'd be away overnight. He opened every door, closet and drawer in the house and ran to my parents' place and back to find me. My mother said Raz seemed almost desperate that time. Since then, I've made sure to tell if I'll be away.

"Tile."

"Hello. Have you seen Xeria today?" Xeria, my Gardevoir, is the last of the three who I always keep with me. She's the only one who was hit by the jet lag even worse than I was.

"Scee." He shakes his head and looks at my toast.

"Do you want some?" It isn't surprising if he does, since this is quite good. It's a shame to tear off a piece of the soft bread and lob it at Raz after he nods, but seeing him munch on it happily is worth it. “Could you go see if Xeira is awake?”

The Sceptile slinks away silently, leaving me alone for a few minutes.

 

Her being near is something I feel before hearing anything.

"Voir."

The Gardevoir, still a little sleepy, comes to the kitchen from the hallway. We've known each other for so long that there's some sort of a psychic link between us even though I've got no gift for such things. It's not much, but I can feel whether she's present or not or if she's going through some strong emotions.

"You fell asleep early last night, but I stored your portion of the strawberries. They're in the fridge." She keeps looking at me while I point at the fridge. "...what?"

Not giving me an answer, she turns away to get her strawberries. Did I forget something? It can't be anything important or she wouldn't have given up so fast. Maybe she's just a bit annoyed because I sent Raz to get her before she wanted to wake up. Whatever the reason, it seems like she's forgiven it as she hums silently while gently setting the small box full of red berries onto the table.

“I hope they're still as tasty as they were yesterday.”

Xeria glances at me before popping one into her mouth. A faint wave of happiness flows from her. She's hopeless when it comes to sweet things.

 

Later that day, while I'm watching the news with Sil, Raz comes into the living room with one of the five things from Hoenn. The other four things I brought home are a mega bracelet, two mega stones and the badge case, and he's got a flute in his hands. The flute is the only thing which I know nothing about. Raz hands the brown, unremarkable instrument to me and glances longingly at Sil who's lying on the sofa next to me. There isn't enough room for me and both of them.

"Tile."

He looks at me expectantly.

"Do you want me to play it for you?"

He doesn't usually do such things, but it could be that he's feeling a little jealous because Sil has been hogging my attention since we got back.

"Tile."

Well, I suppose I could. Raz was the one who made me bring the flute home, after all.

"Okay."

The worn wood of the flute feels completely smooth under my fingers and lips as I gently blow into the mouthpiece. The sound produced is clear and not nearly as high as one would expect from an instrument such as this. Having no idea how to really play, I just cover some of the openings on the top of it to produce some different notes and hope for the best.

 

Raz and Sil listen quietly for the few minutes I play for them, and then voluntarily go into their balls to not be left behind when I tell them that the fridge is empty and a trip to the store is needed. Xeria makes a short list of what's needed while I gather my things. Then, while walking through the rather busy noontime town towards the store and going through the list in my mind, I suddenly get the feeling that someone's following me. The feeling ignores my attempts to remind myself that the street isn't one of the relatively deserted routes of Hoenn. It also doesn't care about me telling it that people walking behind me on a street don't necessarily follow me, they can just be headed the same way. I'm forced to admit that the only way to get rid of it is to give in and turn to an empty alley. As expected, no-one's there when I glance behind myself at the other end of the alley. It would probably be a good idea to stop at the nearby park, which is just around the corner, for a moment to get used to city life again.

 

The first bench I find in the park is empty and mostly clean, so it's perfect for siting on and taking a look around. The park's not very big, just a single block, but it's still got a copse complete with a pond. The defining feature of the whole thing is the dirt path that splits the place diagonally, with an open grass field on one side and everything else on the other. I let Raz out and, just as expected, he climbs the nearest tree. Phew. Peace, finally. Raz definitely won't go anywhere far, nor will he get in trouble, so I can close my eyes, lean back on the bench and try to convince myself that other people don't necessarily mean battles. Listening to the hum of traffic is oddly relaxing...

 

Someone touches my shoulder, making me flinch awake. Damn jet lag. Good thinking from Raz to wake me up. He earns himself a smile as he climbs down from the tree.

Wait. If he's climbing down the tree, then who'd-

“Hey Steve. I didn't know you were back. Nice tan, by the way.”

“Hi Lin. Lunch break?” Evelyn, or Lin as she likes to be called, is a friend of mine. She's a rather normal-looking young woman: about 165 centimeters, shoulder-length mahogany hair tied to a ponytail and a face that could be called pretty but not beautiful. The standard Starpokés barista uniform tries, with meager success, to emphasize her bust.

“Yeah. I was heading back to work when I noticed you.” Glancing at Raz, who's now trying to catch some insects to eat, she moves over to my side of the bench and sits. “So, how's things?”

“A bit messy but it could be worse. I only got back the day before yesterday and my mother insisted that that I go see them immediately so yesterday went with that.” I quickly go over the highlights of my year in Hoenn – Gym battles, getting the mega bracelet and defeating two of the elite four only to find out that the rest of them, along with the champion, weren't there and wouldn't be back before my flight home.

“Really? You beat some the elite four? I didn't know you were so good.” She leans back a little, surprised.

“I thought I told you that I bested one of our elite four in an unofficial duel before the trip.” Unofficial due to an attempt to avoid fame.

“No... or did you? I can't quite remember.” Her phone beeps and she checks it, hopping up the moment she sees the screen. “Eep. I've got to get going or I'll be late. See ya!”

“Later.”

I wave at her lazily as she walks away rapidly, leaving me alone with Raz again.

 


	2. Xeria

_I dream of an all-encompassing force that pushes me into my seat. The noise keeps getting louder until it's nigh unbearable. Everything outside the window moves backwards faster and faster. The seat tilts and the force suddenly pushes me downwards. A mix of a crunch and a creak resounds through the place, making me hug my trainer's arm in fear as the ground sinks away. My ears hurt. I'm scared. Then he strokes my hair and tells me to swallow. I do. Pop._

“ _You don't have to be scared. We're safe.” He smiles and strokes my cheek. “Look outside.”_

_I follow his advice and lose my breath as soon as I do. Everything is so small and neat and keeps getting smaller. The chaos of what I saw on the ground earlier has been replaced with neat, rectangular fields and city blocks. Fromp. All of a sudden, something wispy and gray obscures the view. Everything is shaking gently. Only grayness is visible through the window. His arm offers some comfort as I hug it again, but then the shaking stops and a sudden burst of light hurts my eyes._

“ _We're above the clouds now. It's always sunny here.”_

_Gluing my face to the window again, I -_

Something's not right.

 

An intruder came in while I slept and is now in the living room. Its presence is easy to feel, but it doesn't seem to know I'm here in the room I share with Raz. There's no-one around other than me and it, so it's my duty to find out what it's doing, even if I'd rather not. Now feeling completely awake, I get up and silently move towards the hallway when something urges me to just rush in and slam the intruder with a strong Psychic attack. Focusing my mind on the slight roughness of the wallpaper helps me ignore the urge as my hand slides across the wall while I move the short distance down the hallway that lies between the two rooms.

“Hey! What are you doing here? How did you get in?”

The red-and-white, vaguely plane shaped intruder ignores me, continuing to float in the middle of the living room as if I didn't exist. Now _that's_ rude, and it causes a flash of anger in me. A bit of energy gathers into my crystal as I focus, causing it to glow faintly before I unleash a weak Psychic attack on the intruder. The unknown pokémon nearly drops onto the floor as it is hit, but immediately floats back up and turns around to look at me.

“I asked what you're doing here.” I've never seen a pokémon like the one before me now, but if I had to guess I'd say that it's at least half psychic type.

“Hello! I'm looking for a certain human. Have you seen any?” Its tone is light and cheery, completely unsuited to the situation.

“I'm alone. Could you leave?” If it's part psychic type, then examining its psychic energy field should tell me whether its up to something bad or not. As a precaution in case it is up to something, I also begin gathering energy for another, stronger attack.

“I can't leave before I find this human. Could you help me in my search?” The intruder spreads its short arms and smiles.

“Why do you need to find him?” The energy surrounding it seems benign so I let the gathered energy dissipate.

“I... We just need to meet. There's something I have to tell.” Its arms fidget, making it look uncomfortable.

“I suppose I could let you stay.” My trainer should return soon anyways and he can decide what to do.

 

She calls herself Latias, and is getting on my nerves with her endless questions.

“What's this thing?”

“It's a television.” First the lamp, then a book. Those were understandable. But how could she not know what a bookshelf is or how it works? It doesn't even have a function beyond just being there!

“What does it do? How does it work?” She sticks her head behind it and sneezes due to all the dust that's gathered there.

“Let me turn it on for you.” Hopefully it'll distract her for a while. Let's see, the remote... There, on one shelf of the bookshelf next to the sofa. Now, which one of the buttons on the remote is the one my trainer presses? The red one? No, nothing happened. This other one with a small “1” on it? The TV turns itself on as I press it. A man in kitchen appears on the screen, along with a voice that tells us to add a pinch of salt to it.

“Ooo...” Latias peeks behind the screen again, then gently touches the front. Her trying to figure it out, something I gave up with after asking Steve and getting an explanation about some crystals and invisible waves, gives me a much-needed pause from the constant barrage of questions.

“So what are you doing here anyways?” She probably won't answer that, but I ask it anyways as I sit down. Doing so lets me confirm that she's still too occupied with the TV to answer and lets me enjoy a good minute of nothing but the man on the screen explaining how to make food. Listening to the program makes me to wonder where my trainer is: he should be back already and I'm getting hungry.

 

Latias seems to forget about me as she stares at the cooking program, completely enthralled by it. I do my best to relax while keeping an eye on her, but the relative peace doesn't last long since I soon hear someone at the door. They're finally back.

“Hey-” Gone. She's disappeared. There's no sign of her anywhere, no matter where I look. But, wha- whe- how?

“Hello Xeria! I'm back.” Steve opens the front door while I'm trying to find Latias. She's nowhere to be seen! “I ran into Lin on my way there so I'm a bit late.” He's got to be taking his shoes off now. What am I going to tell him? That someone got in, got mesmerized by the TV and then disappeared? “I'll- Is something wrong?”

“She just- I don't- We were- Disappeared!” The confusion and distress must've leaked over to him since he peeks into the room carefully and with furrowed brows.

“Whoa. Calm down.” The groceries rustle as the bag they're in is set on the ground. I keep stuttering half-formed thoughts at him as he comes over. His hand feels warm as he places it on my crystal and a bit of confusion, some worry for me and quite a bit of caution flow through. Sharing his feelings calms me down slightly. “There.”

“There's something in here, but I can't see it, but it's still here!” She just disappeared! How did she do it? It couldn't be Teleport – I would have noticed that – and none of the windows are open.

“Easy now.” I can't quite meet his eyes during the long, focused stare he gives me. It's as if there's something moving at the corner of my eye. “I brought something for you. Just a second.” Leaving me for a moment, he goes back to the bag, digs around for a second and takes out a longish package which is promptly ripped open. I'm handed a cookie as he comes back.

“Huh? Now?” Not that I'm really complaining. He gave me a white chocolate chip cookie that has dried cranberries in it. While some others, like Raz, think it's overly sweet, the cranberries balance out the sweetness and create a pleasant mix of sweet and sour.

“So. What was it that you wanted to tell me?”

“It's just that Latias got in while you were gone. She's harmless.” Ah, this taste. It's been far too long since the last one. I forgot how magnificent this combination of goodness is.

“Latias? That's weird... Where is it now?”

“In this room I think.”

He does not answer, but takes out another cookie from the package and holds it up in the air.

 

For a minute or so, nothing happens. Then a ripple in the air moves towards my trainer and the cookie he's holding.

“Can I have it?” A faint voice comes from the direction the ripple is in before Latias suddenly reappears. The energies surrounding her remain benign, but I decide to keep an eye on her just in case.

“Eh, hi?” It may not seem like it, but he's a bit afraid right now. “Yeah, it's all yours if you want it.”

“It looks weird.” She floats closer and sniffs the sweet before gently taking it from him with both hands.

“So, what are you doing here?” His fingers slowly approach Latias' head before she backs off just enough to be out of his reach. Unseen by her, however, he's also fondling the part of his belt where Raz's and Sil's balls are. Neither one gets called out, which is understandable. Raz fighting here would make a horrible mess and break half the things in the room and Sil would burn the whole house down.

“I was looking for you because you need to come with me for a thing. It won't take long.” Sniffing the cookie again, she looks at it for a moment before nibbling it. It's starting to seem that she truly is not a threat and I needn't worry.

“Won't take long? Is that five minutes, five hours or five days?” My trainer's fear is gone, and he's now excited and suspicious. I bet he wants to catch Latias.

“You'll be back before tomorrow. I promise.” Some crumbs fall on the floor as she splits her cookie in half and offers one piece to Steve. “So, will you help me?”

“Fine, but I'll have to eat first.” My unspoken wish gets fulfilled as he accepts the piece, takes a tiny bite and hands the rest to me. “You're welcome to join us if you're hungry.”

 

After letting out Raz and Sil, my trainer went to the kitchen with Latias in tow. She asked what what a stove does and is now receiving an explanation. Sil is napping in the corner and Raz is sitting with me on the sofa.

“So. What do you think.” Raz, looking towards the doorway, keeps his voice down to not be heard by our trainer or his curious companion.

“I don't think she's going to do anything, but still... There's just something odd. I can't quite tell what it is, but I don't trust her.” I'm looking out of the window, likewise keeping my voice down, but am focused on my sixth sense that's telling me Steve is currently in the kitchen and isn't going to run out of patience any time soon.

“Me neither.” The explanation about the stove has finished, and the only noise is the fridge being opened. “I'll go make sure he's fine.” He leaves as I try to think what makes me not trust Latias. First I felt her intrude while asleep, and then- Or did I really? There's absolutely no sign of her presence apart the ongoing explanation of how a fridge works. That's odd.


End file.
